Realization and Consequence
by xXGothicDancerXx
Summary: Sam comes to terms with his feelings for Frodo right before they're sent on their quest. How will he handle it throughout the journey? Slash:FrodoXSam Rated T for later chapters
1. Can it be true?

Realization and Consequence

Slash: FrodoXSam

Summary: Sam comes to terms with his feelings for Frodo right before they're sent on their quest. How will he handle it throughout the journey?

A/N PLEASE READ FIRST!: Since I haven't read the books yet, this is going to mainly based on the timeline of the movie (and I'll most likely end up putting in direct quotes from the movie here and there, but I DO NOT own them or the movie, books or characters). And as a reminder, this is a slash so if you don't like that then don't read it. This is my first fan fiction so please be nice. I would also greatly appreciate people leaving comments giving be suggestions for later chapters and ways I can improve my writing. Enjoy!

Chapter 1. Can it Be True?

There was term folks in The Shire used to describe the feelings that _seemed _to be love, but really wasn't. The term was 'a blinding crush'; when you have such strong feelings for someone that you block your eyes and heart from all others. But was it true love? No, it wasn't. Because it also blinded you from seeing who the person cared about truly is like.

That was the way Sam felt about Rosie Cotton. It wasn't until Bilbo Baggins had celebrated his 111th birthday that he had realized this though. It wasn't until Frodo pushed him over to her to dance that he realized his true feelings.

His father had always told him that when you meet the right girl, you'll know it because your heart will beat faster and you'll get little butterflies in your stomach. Sam was really little when he first heard his father say this and laughed because of how funny it sounded. But, it was true, because as he got older, his friends had said that was how they felt when they found the girl they loved. But when Sam danced with Rosie, he felt nothing. It felt more like dancing with a friend you only knew for a week rather than, what some folks called, your 'soul mate.'

"Friend," mumbled Sam, somewhat sadly, when he finished dancing with Rosie. That's exactly what he needed though, a friend to talk to about his troubles. Without hesitating, he ran off to find Frodo; surely he would be a source for comfort, as he always was as they grew up together.

He spotted Frodo near some tents with Bilbo and started to walk over towards them.

"Frodo," Sam called out, but Frodo appeared not to have heard him. But before he had the chance to call again, Frodo and Bilbo had escaped into the tents; hiding from their relatives is what it looked like to Sam. Rather than follow them, he simply went back for another ale.

He didn't see Frodo again until after Bilbo 'disappeared' and Frodo chased after him, or at least attempted to, as he was nowhere to be found.

"Sam!" Frodo called as he ran towards his friend. "Help me find Bilbo!" Frodo's face was stricken with panic and fear, as well as everyone else who had witnessed Bilbo's vanishing act. Sam thought he might pass out. And Sam was sure he had the exact same expression on his face as well.

"Don't worry Mr. Frodo! We'll find him!" Sam assured and began to search the entire area for him. Any place he could possibly have hidden. At the same time they both wondered the same thing: "What in the world happened?" Neither one coming up with an answer.

It must have been hours since they took a break from searching, and the only reason they stopped was because Frodo had collapsed to his knees from too much anxiety and dizziness taking over.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam called and rushed over to his nearly unconscious friend. Luckily, he was only about twenty-feet away. He looked like he was going to be sick. He kneeled down next to him and used one of his hands to gently rub Frodo's back to try and calm him down. "It'll be alright Mr. Frodo." At first, Frodo's head just dropped in defeat, but a few seconds later his head popped up half-way as if an idea had just entered his head. He slowly lifted his head the rest of the way and turned to look at Sam.

"I forgot to check our house!" He said without his expression changing. Frodo immediately stood up and Sam followed, unknowing his hand was still on Frodo's back. They stood there for a second just looking at each other and then Sam realized he hadn't yet taken his hand off Frodo and quickly snatched his hand away, slightly embarrassed. He mumbled and small apology and turned his head slightly away. Frodo smiled and let out a silent chuckle at this and embraced Sam in a quick, tight hug, causing Sam to slightly gasp in surprise.

"Thank you for helping me, Sam. You can go home now; I'll go and check my house." It took Sam a second to register his thoughts before he hugged Frodo back. As he did, he unconsciously inhaled the scent of his friend which immediately sent a chill down his spine and a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. A feeling similar to the way some of his other friends described 'love.' Sam grew wide-eyed at the thought and quickly snapped himself out of his trance as Frodo let go and gave Sam one last smile as he took off hurriedly towards Bag End; leaving Sam there still in slight shock at the strange feelings that just took over him for that split second.

After a few minutes, he finally came back to his senses and got himself to start walking back to his home, his thoughts still in a haze.

That night, he had a dream that made all his sudden feelings start to make a little sense.

_~Flashback to a conversation between Sam and his father~:_

"_Daddy, daddy!" Eight-year-old Sam called as he ran outside to where his father was relaxing. His father, Hamfast, pulled Sam up onto his lap, ready to answer another one of the millions of questions that Sam constantly asked as a child. It was easy to tell when he had another burning question in his mind that he wanted an answer for._

"_Yes m'boy?" Hamfast asked with a smile._

_With a curious expression, Sam asked his father, "What's love?"_

_Still smiling, Hamfast said, "Well, love is difficult to describe in words, especially ones that a little boy would understand at your age. But what you gotta know about love is that when you meet the right girl, there are a few signs that will let you know you're in love."_

"_What kinda signs?" Sam asked, fully interested and curious._

"_Well the first sign is friendship. The best and the strongest love usually start with a great friendship. The second sign is how fast your heart beats when you're around her," Hamfast said putting a finger to Sam's chest where his heart was. "When you're in love, you're heart will beat faster and faster until you think it's gonna grow wings and fly out of your chest!" Sam laughed at the image as well as Hamfast before he spoke again. "And the third sign is a feeling you get in your stomach when you're around her. It feels like a thousand little butterflies swirling around in stomach." As he said this, he poked Sam's stomach causing Sam to start laughing even more in his adorable child-like way. Also causing his father to laugh again as well._

"_Hey daddy," Sam asked with the same curious expression as before, "what happens if you like a guy instead of a girl?" He asked this for no real reason at the time, but simply out of curiosity._

_His father's expression drastically changed from joyful to a mixture of confusion and worry. "What do you mean, son?" Was all he was able to say at the moment._

"_Well, you said when I find the right 'girl' I'll have all those feelings, but what if I like a guy? Will I feel the same things?"_

_Hamfast's expression did not change as he attempted to explain his views without putting the wrong idea in his child's head. As each Hobbit was usually taught the same thing about such matters, even if they thought it was wrong. _

"_W-well, um," he said as he tried to find the right words, as this was something that was rarely dealt with in The Shire. "Let me ask you this, son, do you ever want to have kids someday?"_

"_I guess, maybe." Sam replied. He really wasn't quite sure yet._

"_Well if you do, you'd have to find a wife, because you can't have children without woman. And I would sure love to have grandchildren someday too."_

"_Oh," Sam said. "So, is it wrong to like a guy?" Once again Sam only asked out of curiosity since he didn't know how he felt about it at the time. _

"_N-no, but it isn't… it isn't…" Hamfast tried to find the right words, again without it sounding offensive to a child. "It isn't well-thought-of among Hobbits. You understand don't you, boy?" Sam nodded, although he really didn't understand. "Good, well we ought to be getting inside now. It's about time for supper." He lifted Sam off his lap and put him back onto the grass and got up to walk inside. Sam didn't move at first, instead he waited until his father entered the house before he spoke aloud to no one in particular, "but what if I end up liking a guy?" _

Sam woke up practically startled and sat up in his bed so suddenly it made him light-headed. He then rubbed his forehead with one of his hands out of confusion and slight frustration. After a few seconds, he realized it was the same hand he used to rub Frodo's back with the night before as it still had the ghost of his scent on his skin. Without thinking, he covered his nose with that hand and deeply inhaled what was left of his scent, enjoying every last second and listing in his head the different scents.

"_Ale and cupcakes," _were the first thoughts that he recognized. He had seen a lot of both those things at the party. _"Smoke, from either Gandalf's fireworks or the pipe-weed everyone smoked, and finally the natural sweet scent that Frodo always seemed to have._ Sam's eyes grew wide again as he realized the same feelings he had when Frodo hugged him last night returned, and even seemed a little stronger than before.

"Oh, for the love of the Valar," Sam whispered dropping his hand onto his lap. "Is this really… is this really… love? It can't be, can it?" Sam tried to come up with another explanation, but every time he did, he saw the image of his friend's joyful and innocent face that he loved seeing so much telling him that there could be only one explanation for his feelings: love.


	2. Talking

A/N: Thanks to all the people who liked the first chapter! (*^_^*) This chapter is just a conversation between Frodo and Sam the morning after Bilbo's party. Sorry if I made it too fluffy in some spots, it's one of my weaknesses. The next chapter will be when Gandalf comes back. Once again, I haven't read the books so this is movie-based. Enjoy, wonderful people! :D

Chapter 2: Talking

When Sam got up that morning, he didn't bother to stop and get breakfast. Instead he hurriedly got dressed and left a note for his father saying he was going to be out most of the day. Leaving the note on kitchen table, he quietly walked out the door, not wanting to wake his still sleeping father, and left for Frodo's house. The first thing he wanted to do was get answers for the mysteries of the previous night.

As he started walking towards Bag End, he realized how early in the morning it actually was; it was silent with the exception of a few animals and the sky was still slightly dark. He wondered if Frodo would even be awake yet. The thought crossed his mind once or twice to go home and come back in a few hours so Frodo would have at least had the chance to have breakfast, but considering the fact that he was already half-way there, he just kept walking.

He knocked quietly at the door when he arrived, not wanting to bother him if he were still sleeping, but surprisingly he was at the door in less than twenty seconds. Frodo slowly opened the door and blinked his eyes a few times to get them to adjust to the small amounts of outside light before he saw it was Sam at the door.

"Oh, hello Sam. Come on in." Frodo said, trying to hide his sleepiness even though Sam could easily tell when he hadn't gotten enough sleep. His eyes were half-open with dark circles underneath them. His hands were also slightly shaky from lack of energy.

"Thank you, Mr. Frodo." Sam said as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "I beggin' your pardon for askin' Mr. Frodo, but have gotten any sleep before I got here?"

Frodo tried to suppress a yawn, but failed. "Not really. I had meant to, but there was too much on my mind." Concerned, Sam put an arm around Frodo and led him to kitchen to sit down.

"Have you gotten anything to eat yet?" Sam asked.

Frodo yawned again. "Not yet, I was about to, but I realized wasn't hungry yet."

"Well you certainly can't go without eating. I'll fix you something to eat, Frodo. You just try to relax a little bit."

Without hesitation, Frodo sat down and plopped his head down on the table and started to fall asleep, comforted by the fact that there was finally a friend there with him. Sam smiled and began to heat up a pan to cook up some eggs and bacon. He decided to cook twice as much food because his own hunger had finally caught up with him. While the food was cooking, he also hung a kettle of water over the already-lit fireplace so he could make tea as well.

As he looked around the house, he realized there wasn't anyone else around. Frodo was the only one there. Bilbo was gone. When Frodo woke up, he would have to ask him what happened. As he thought this, he glanced over at his sleeping friend. _He looks so cute when he's sleeping, _Sam thought. He finished up cooking and started to lie some of the food on the plates on the table. Frodo must've gotten the plates out earlier today; he had said he was _about_ to eat. When he finished setting the food down, he grabbed the kettle and poured the tea. Then, he walked over to Frodo to wake him up.

"Mr. Frodo," Sam put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently to try and wake him up, but it seemed to have no effect. "Frodo," he tried again, this time he kneeled down and used the same hand to stroke away the little strands of hair that had fallen over Frodo's soft-to-the-touch (as Sam noted) face. He then stirred slightly in his chair and opened his eyes a little to look at Sam. When he realized what Sam was doing, his face turned light shade of pink and he turned his focus back to the table; trying to suppress a small smile.

Sam's face also turned pink as he snatched his hand away, stood up, and spoke. "Um… breakfast is… ready." Sam placed a plate of food near him and Frodo, slowly at first since he was still waking up, started eating. He sat down in a chair across the table from him and also started eating. _I've got to stop embarrassing myself like this!_ Most of their meal was in silence, but after a few minutes, Sam spoke again.

"So," Frodo looked up as the silence was broken. "Did you ever figure out… what happened?" Frodo hesitated and looked down; deep in thought. As if he were trying to choose the right words.

"Bilbo…" Frodo glanced up at Sam before finishing his sentence. Sam didn't look like he was impatient, so he used a few more moments to choose his words. "…left the Shire." Sam decided not to ask for details since it seemed Frodo didn't want to speak of it and the rest of their meal was ate in silence. When they were done eating, Sam gathered their plates and took them to the counter, and then he refilled their tea cups before sitting down again. Sam smiled in satisfaction as it seemed that the meal helped Frodo since he no longer seemed extraordinarily tired or depressed.

"Sam," Frodo started as Sam sipped his tea. "What happened with you and Rosie last night?"

Sam nearly choked on his tea before he could answer. "What do you mean, Mr. Frodo?" He asked with more urgency than he intended.

"Well, after you two danced last night, you seemed kind of upset. Then, I remember you calling my name a little while after that, but I didn't get the chance to answer. I was planning on talking to you about that once the night was over, but…"Frodo trailed off.

Suddenly, all of the memories of last night came flooding back to Sam. He remembered the feelings he had while dancing with Rosie, or lack-there-of, and more importantly the feelings he had when Frodo hugged him, which once again came back to him as he recalled the memory. Instinctively, he looked downwards to hide the pink color that returned to his face.

"Umm…" Sam started out, not sure what to say. "I don't think I like Rosie anymore." He said flat out.

Frodo looked confused and slightly surprised at his blunt statement. "But Sam, you've had a crush on her for at least three months now." He said, still confused.

Sam slowly lifted his eyes to meet his friends'. "As I danced with her… I figured out I don't feel… _that way _about her anymore. That's… what I was going to tell you last night."

Frodo gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Sam"

Sam smiled as well. "Don't be, Mr. Frodo. I'm glad I found out _now _so I can focus on other things." He sipped more of his tea.

"What kind of things, Sam?" Frodo asked, nearly causing Sam to choke on his tea again.

Sam's smile grew slightly bigger. "Just _things,_" Sam said shrugging his shoulders. Frodo seamed annoyed at his vagueness and narrowed his eyes jokingly at Sam before drinking more of his own tea as well.

"Sam, would you please tell me?" Frodo asked, suspecting there was something more that Sam wasn't telling him.

"In time, Mr. Frodo. You'll know when the time comes." Sam responded and finished his tea, then carrying his cup to the counter. _In time, Frodo_.

A/N: I'll have the third chapter up soon so no worries! Also, fav and review if you liked it, please! :) Constructive criticism is always welcome.


	3. Revelation of Fate

A/N: Hi again! This is the fastest I've ever uploaded a new chapter, though I don't think I'll have time to make a new chapter everyday. Bummer. This chapter gets back to the things you see in the movie with a lot (yes, I mean A LOT) of quotes and actions that were in the movie. I'm trying to write this in a way that you could see stuff in this story that actually happened in the movie so it's easier to imagine such things while watching it. It won't be exact though (how can it be, it's a fan fiction!). Thank you to all those who have added my story/revied it! :D I very much appreciated it and I'm really glad you like it! If anyone has any ideas about things I should put in later chapters or just ways I should write it, please review and tell me. I want to make sure everyone else love's the story as well. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR. If I did, I'd be worthy of sailing to the Valinor itself.

Enjoy! (*^_^*) Hope you like it!

Chapter 3: Revelation of Fate

Over the many years, Sam's feelings hadn't diminished; they'd grown. They had grown so much that Sam couldn't seem to go a day without trying to see Frodo. He had started working longer on Frodo's garden just so he could be around him more and he had dreams about him almost every night. Sam also noticed how fast his heart beat became when Frodo gave him that warm smile of his, as he could actually hear the blood pumping to his ears. But even with his feelings building up like this, he dare not speak a word about them. He couldn't risk losing his friendship with Frodo, although it was getting much too hard to keep it to himself. Much too hard.

But as he and Frodo grew closer, Sam started to believe that it would take _a lot_ to break up their friendship. It seemed that nothing bothered Frodo to such a degree that he would stop being friends with someone. Frodo always found a way to look past or get around rough things or to just simply forgive those that did something wrong. Sam thought this over one night while everybody was at the Green Dragon.

Sam was sitting at a table while his Gaffer and two other men chatted about something; Sam paid little to no attention to them and Frodo was up getting drinks. He kept his own thoughts focused on whether he should tell Frodo or not, this seemed like the hardest decision of his life: If he told, he risked losing his best friend, but if he said nothing and kept it secret, he risked never knowing how Frodo felt. While he thought, he glanced up once and accidentally caught Rosie's eye. She smiled back at him and Sam still felt absolutely nothing. All he could think about at this point was what he would tell Frodo if he were ever to tell him. _So __little__ the decisions… so __big__ the consequences…_

Sam's attention snapped back to reality as he heard one of the men at the table mention Bilbo's name.

"…you're starting to sound like that Bilbo Baggins, cracked he was."

"Young Mr. Frodo here," another man said. "He's cracking."

Frodo arrived at the table as he spoke. "And proud of it." He stated happily, put down the drinks and passed them out. "Cheers, Gaffer!"

Frodo sat down and started to drink and Sam decided to take this brief moment to look at Frodo's expression to determine if he would be in a good enough mood to hear Sam out about his true feelings. Frodo caught his stare as he put down his mug and gave him a warm smile, causing Sam's face to feel as if it had been lit on fire.

-When they left they walked past Rosie one last time and Sam still felt no different than before. It was clear to Sam that he no longer had any feelings towards her, not that it hadn't been clear to him before.

Sam decided to walk with Frodo to Bag End; still contemplating telling him. He couldn't take his eyes off Frodo that night, which was okay since it was hard for Frodo to be able to notice the extra attention in the darkness. For some reason, Sam's feelings had been extraordinarily intense that night. As if there was a force in his head causing all his thoughts and everything he saw and heard to be about his friend. _I have to tell him soon, _Sam thought. But before Sam knew it, they were at Bag End.

"Good night, Sam." Frodo said and patted him on the back before walking towards his door.

"Good night, Mr. Frodo," Sam said back, only half-conscious as he said it since he was asking himself if his time with Frodo that night had really ended that quickly. He began to walk home himself, but the more distance he created between himself and Bag End, the more a little voice in his head told him to back and tell him, _now!_ Sam tried to shake the voice from his head, though every time he tried the voice just got stronger.

"I give up," Sam whispered into the night air as he realized there was no way to stop this force in his mind and he began walking back towards Frodo's house with building nervousness in his stomach. He prayed silently that he wouldn't be upset.

When he got there, he opened the gate slowly, anticipation building inside him, and closed the gate silently behind him. He started to walk up the steps, but before he got to the door he heard a familiar voice from the window, not Frodo's, but someone older; Gandalf! Curiosity built inside him and he silently crept towards the open window and did his best to hide himself in the bushes.

"What can you see?" He heard Gandalf ask Frodo. "Can you see anything?" Sam wondered what they were looking at that had Gandalf so anxious.

"Nothing," Frodo responded "There's nothing… wait." Sam listened intently. "There are markings. It's some form of Elvish. I can't read it."

"There are few who can," Gandalf spoke again. "The language is that of Mordor, which I will not utter here."

"Mordor?"

"In the common tongue, it says, "one Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."

Sam was now listening more intently than ever. _What sort of ring was this? _Sam tried his best to stay silent. It sounded like they had moved to sit down before speaking again.

"This is the one Ring," he heard Gandalf say, "forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the fires of Mount Doom, taken by Isildur from the hand of Sauron himself."

"Bilbo found it…" Frodo said, "In Gollum's cave."

"Yes, for 60 years the Ring lay quiet in Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life, delaying old age. But no longer, Frodo. Evil is stirring in Mordor. The Ring has awoken. It's heard its master's call."

"But he was destroyed. Sauron was destroyed." They stopped talking for a moment, but Sam couldn't hear why. But a part of him swore he heard someone, or _something, _whispering in a dark voice.

"No, Frodo. The spirit of Sauron endured. His life force is bound to the Ring and the Ring survived. Sauron has returned." Hearing those words sent a nervous chill down Sam's spine, but he continued listening. "His orcs have multiplied. His fortress at Barad-Dûr is rebuilt in the land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this Ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness. He is seeking it. Seeking it. All his thought is bent on it. The Ring yearns above all else to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the Ring and the Dark Lord. Frodo, he must never find it."

"Alright, we put it away." Sam could hear Frodo getting up and ducked his head down further. "We put it away and we never speak of it again. No one knows it's here, do they? Do they, Gandalf?"

"There is one other who knew that Bilbo had the Ring. I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum, but the enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him, but amidst the endless screams and inane babble, they discerned two words: Shire and Baggins."

"Shire. Baggins. But that would lead them here." Sam grew more and more panicked as he listened. "Take it, Gandalf. Take it."

"No, Frodo."

"You must take it!"

"You cannot offer me this Ring."

"I'm giving it to you!"

"Don't tempt me, Frodo! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo? I would use this Ring from a desire to do good. But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine."

"But it cannot stay in the Shire."

"No. No, it can't."

"What must I do?"

"You must leave, and leave quickly," as Gandalf spoke, Sam could hear Frodo grabbing things from around his house and putting them into a bag.

"Where? Where do I go?"

"Get out of the Shire. Make for village of Bree."

"Bree. What about you?"

"I'll be waiting for you at the Inn of the Prancing Pony."

"And the Ring will be safe there?"

"I don't know, Frodo. I don't have any answers. I must see the head of my order. He is both wise and powerful. Trust me, Frodo. He'll know what to do. You'll have to leave the name of Baggins behind you, that name is not safe outside the Shire. Travel only by day, and stay off the road."

"I can cut across country easily enough."

"My dear Frodo," Gandalf's voice grew softer. "Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet, after a hundred years, they can still surprise you." Sam moved a tiny bit as his leg was starting to fall asleep, but accidentally stepped on a few twigs and part of the bush creating an easily heard noise. He was now scared stiff. He knew he had been heard.

"Get down." Sam was sure that Gandalf would easily strike him down if he tried to run so he stayed still hoping that when Gandalf found him he'd have mercy. He crouched down a little, having slight hope that he might still be able to hide, but it created another noise and before he had the chance to mentally curse himself, he felt Gandalf's staff hit him on the head, causing him to slightly yell out in pain. And in less than 3 seconds, Gandalf pulled him up and through the window, then slammed him down on the table.

"Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee! Have you been eavesdropping?"

Panicked, Sam tried to explain. "I haven't been dropping no eaves, sir, honest. I was just cutting the grass under the window." Even Sam knew that was a terrible excuse, _who would cut grass this late at night?_

"A little late for trimming the verge, don't you think?"

"I heard raised voices," Sam tried explaining again.

"What did you hear? Speak!"

"N-n-nothing important. That is, I heard a good deal about a ring, a Dark Lord, and something about the end of the world. Please Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me. Don't turn me into anything, unnatural." Sam begged, full of terror.

"No?" Gandalf turned his gaze to Frodo and Sam's eyes tried to follow. Sam saw Frodo's face lighten and a smile started to spread across his face. "Perhaps not." He turned his eyes back to Gandalf's when he spoke again. "I've thought of a better use for you."

Sam's last thought before everything changed was,_ 'This isn't the right day to tell him, is it?' _


	4. Beginning of the Journey

A/N: Wow, this is a long chapter! Sorry 'bout that, the next one will be shorter. I'm so glad you guys like my story so far! I'll do my best not to let anyone down. And of course, if anyone has any ideas for future chapters, feel free to review and tell me! (*^_^*) Hope you enjoy this chapter as well! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR, nor its characters.

Chapter 4: Beginning of the Journey

Within the next few hours, they had collected everything they were going to need on their journey. Sam ended up carrying most of the stuff like the pots, pans, and food. He was also fully informed on everything that was going on and the severity of the situation he and Frodo were both now in. He felt a large amount of sympathy for Frodo as he was being told of everything; such a kind and innocent person being forced to carry and protect such great evil from getting in to the wrong hands. Sam made a silent promise to help in every way possible.

"Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee." Sam remembers Gandalf telling him when Frodo was out of hearing range. As if the thought to do so had _ever once _crossed Sam's mind. He would gladly follow Frodo to the darkest corners of Middle-earth and back if that needed to be done. Especially since Sam had a gut feeling he was going to have to prove that eventually, but he didn't tell Frodo about his somber suspicions.

It was early in the morning by the time they started setting out towards the border of the Shire. Gandalf waited until they were all away from people who could hear them and deep into a forest before speaking to them.

"Be careful, both of you," Gandalf warned. "The enemy has many spies in his service: birds, beasts." He stopped and turned to Frodo. "Is it safe?" Frodo responded by putting his hand over the pocket he kept the Ring in. Gandalf kneeled down so he could lower his voice, but still kept it loud enough so Sam could hear him. "Never put it on… for the agents of the Dark Lord will be drawn to its power. Always remember, Frodo, the Ring is trying to get back to its master. It wants to be found." He then patted Frodo's shoulder, got on his horse and took off quickly, leaving Sam and Frodo alone to continue on their journey.

Once Gandalf was gone, they heard loud and strange animal sounds which immediately startled Frodo (as he remembered Gandalf's warning about spies); Sam could easily tell, so he walked a few steps closer to Frodo to remind him he was there to look after him. When Frodo calmed down a little, he took a deep breath and started walking, Sam making sure he was only a couple of steps behind. Most of their walk was made in silence until they came to an area that looked quite familiar to Sam.

"This is it," Sam commented, looking around.

"This is what?" Frodo asked.

"If I take one more step… it will be the farthest away from home I've ever been."

Frodo walked back towards Sam a little and gave a comforting smile. "Come on, Sam." Sam hesitated, but eventually walked so he was standing right next to his friend. Frodo put an arm on Sam's back to reassure him that there was nothing to worry about. "Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo. Going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet … there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

* * *

When they both felt that had walked long enough for the day, they found a place where they could camp out for the night. Sam volunteered to cook dinner for them both that night, much to Frodo's delight since Sam knew more about cooking than he did. To help, Frodo got a good fire going that Sam could heat up the pan with and while Sam cooked, Frodo sat on a slanted tree and smoked some of his pipe-weed to relax. Sam decided to smoke some of his own pipe-weed while he cooked since the smell was too intoxicating to resist.

After a few minutes, Frodo heard something that caught his attention. "Sam," Frodo got his attention. Sam looked up and Frodo and snapped his head around the other way when he heard the same sound. It was singing. "Wood-elves," Frodo smiled and said, and they both got up to find the source of the beautiful singing. When they did, they hid behind a fallen tree to watch the elves.

"They're going to the harbor beyond the White Towers." Frodo pointed out quietly. "To the Grey Havens."

"They're leaving Middle-earth."

"Never to return."

"I don't know why… it makes me sad."

* * *

They headed back to their camp a while later and finished eating. When they got out their bedding, Sam tried put his close to Frodo's, but not _too _close, as he didn't want to be so bold. Although he was more comfortable than he expected, Sam still could not find sleep that night. "Everywhere I lie there's a dirty great root sticking into my back." Sam complained, even though it didn't bother him that much. The thing that bothered him the most was that there was still a campfire and a good portion of their stuff separating him and Frodo.

"Just shut your eyes… and imagine your back in your own bed," Sam looked over at Frodo as he spoke sleepily. "With a soft mattress and a lovely feather pillow." Sam tried to follow his advice and closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but it had no effect. "It's not working, Mr. Frodo. I'm never going to be able to sleep out here."

Frodo, with a small hint of humor or amusement in his voice said back, "Me neither, Sam."

Sam picked a piece of leftover food and starting eating since he was starting to give up on sleep. By the time he was done with it though, he started to hear quiet snoring. Frodo was asleep, so Sam decided to try once more to do the same. He leaned back and closed his eyes and tried to envision the same things Frodo had told him to do before; still no effect. After a couple of minutes of conjuring up things to get him to relax, the thought entered his mind of instead of being in the spot he was now, he was next to Frodo with his arm draped over him, holding him close, at least close enough that he would be able to inhale and breathe in his scent. With that thought in his mind he was able to fall asleep in no time at all.

* * *

Even though he was the last to fall asleep, Sam was the first to wake up in the morning since he was startled by a nightmare. He had dreamt that he had lost Frodo and he got hurt because Sam wasn't there to protect him. Sam had forgotten most of the little details, but the fear still remained in him. He got up quickly and walked over to Frodo who was still sleeping peacefully. He kneeled down in front of Frodo and was immediately comforted by the fact that he was perfectly alright.

He thought about waking him up, but he decided to let him sleep a little while longer since he was very exhausted the night before (he also looked too adorable in his sleep to disturb, Sam thought, as it looked like he was enjoying a peaceful dream). For a second though, it looked as if Frodo's eyes opened a tiny bit and then closed, but Sam brushed it off as his imagination. So instead he just smiled warmly at him, got up and gathered his bedding together and got another fire going to cook breakfast first. When he just about finished cooking their meal, he heard Frodo stir in his bed as he started to wake up.

"Good morning, Mr. Frodo," Sam called to him and got a small plate to put Frodo's breakfast on. Frodo saw the food and smiled in gratitude.

"Good morning, Sam," Frodo replied, sleepily. Frodo got up slowly and walked over to sit down next to Sam and began eating. "How long have you been awake?" He asked as Sam got his own food in silence.

"I reckon about half an hour." Sam replied thoughtfully.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Frodo asked with a slightly devious expression, as if he suspected something.

"I just… thought I'd let you sleep a little longer. You seemed pretty tired last night." Frodo nodded. "Why do you ask?"He was now curious about Frodo's expression.

Frodo shrugged. "I just thought you were planning on waking me up while you were next to me earlier. I thought that's why you were staring at me for so long." Frodo laughed and continued eating. Sam would've said something to defend himself, if he hadn't just bitten his cheek.

As they walked, they eventually made it into a cornfield that stretched far above their heads, making it difficult to see. It took a while, but they finally cut through most of it and made it onto a path that led through the center of it. But something seemed wrong to Sam as he looked around: they were separated. Sam looked around, but saw no sign of his friend.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called out. Worried, he began running down the pathway. _Oh no, don't tell me…_ "Frodo? Frodo!" But finally he saw Frodo walking towards him from the other direction and a wave of relief washed over Sam. "I thought I'd lost you."

"What are you talking about?" Frodo asked.

"It's just something Gandalf said."

"What did he say?"

"Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee. And I don't mean to."

"Sam, we're still in the Shire. What could possibly happen?"

Before either of them had time to conjure up an answer, they were both knocked down in an instant by Merry and Pippin coming out of the cornfield.

"Frodo," Pippin said as he realized who it was he trampled. "Merry, it's Frodo Baggins."

"Hello, Frodo." Merry said as he helped Sam up.

Sam quickly rushed over to Frodo, "Get off him!" He yelled at Pippen and yanked him off of Frodo and threw him to the side so he could help his friend get up. "Come on, Frodo."

"What's the meaning of this?" Frodo asked Merry and Pippin as they started to gather the vegetables they dropped and handed them to Sam.

"You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!" Sam yelled. They all turned their heads as they heard Farmer Maggot yelling and coming towards them.

Merry quickly grabbed Frodo and led him through the cornfield and Sam dropped the vegetables and started running a short distance behind them.

"I don't know why he's so upset," Merry yelled. "It's only a couple of carrots."

"And some cabbages," Pippin added. "And those three bags of potatoes we lifted last week. And then the mushrooms the week before."

"Yes, Pippin. My point is… he's clearly overreacting. Run!" They stopped in an instant when they reached the edge of a steep hill, but Sam didn't notice as he had turned around for a second and ran into them, causing them all to come crashing down.

When they hit the ground they landed uncomfortably on top of one another. Both Merry and Pippin said something of little importance to Sam since he was already upset by them.

"Trust a Brandybuck and a Took!" Sam said frustrated as they all tried to get up.

"What?" Merry said back. "That was just a detour. A short cut."

"Short cut to what?"

"Mushrooms!" As Pippin said that, everyone except Frodo rushed over to collect the mushrooms in a bag, admiring each one they picked.

After a few moments Frodo spoke, "I think we should get off the road." Though no one heard him the first time and Frodo kept staring down the road. "Get off the road! Quick!" This time everyone hurriedly hopped off the road and hid under a tree trunk.

"Be quiet," Sam told Merry and Pippin as they were looking through the bag of mushrooms noisily. They all became silent and Merry and Pippin seemed slightly confused when they heard the sound of a horse near them. But unlike his cousins, Frodo was frightened.

Everyone stayed silent as they heard something above them dismount their horse and lowered his head towards them. Fear was building as they heard something that sounded like sniffing, as if someone were looking something. Frodo looked up and saw through an open space in the roots and saw a dark rider wearing a black cloak. He quickly snapped his head back and without thinking clearly, Frodo closed his eyes and slowly took the Ring out of his pocket and was about to put it on. The thought came to Frodo that he would be safe from this horrific demon above him if he put it on and vanished. Sam looked over and caught this just in time and he reached over and grabbed Frodo's arm, snapping him back into full consciousness. Frodo then remembered Gandalf's warning about putting on the Ring. Then, Merry threw the bag of mushrooms a far distance away distracting the Black Rider and giving them the chance to escape. Merry and Pippin got up and ran without waiting another second. Then Sam helped Frodo up to run as well.

When they were far enough away that they could stop for a second, Merry accidentally tripped and slid to the ground, causing everyone to come to a stop. "What was that?" Merry asked. Frodo stopped running and looked down at his hand where the one Ring lay.


	5. Escape the Nazgûl

A/N: This chapter is gonna be a bit more fluffy than the others so prepare yourself! lol The reason this chapter is so short is because I originally wanted it to be part of chapter 4, but then I realized how long chapter 4 was so I cut it in to two chapters. Hope you enjoy! (*^_^*)

Disclaimer: LOTR is NOT mine (but I wish it was)

Chapter 5: Escape the Nazgûl

They ran for hours, trying to get out of the forest and away from the Dark Riders looking for them. Sooner than they had noticed, it was nighttime. The four hobbits ran from tree to tree, searching the area every time they reached a new one to make sure they weren't being followed, though every now and then they'd hear the screech of one of them.

"Anything?" Sam called to Frodo from a distance.

Frodo looked around. "Nothing," he called back.

"What is going on?" Pippin asked out of exhaustion.

"That Black Rider was looking for something. Or someone," Merry said, walking towards Frodo. "Frodo?" Frodo looked at him, but wasn't able to answer.

"Get down!" Sam yelled. Everyone kneeled down and hid as one of the Dark Riders came into view and then rode off.

When it was gone Frodo responded to Merry's question. "I have to leave the Shire. Sam and I must get to Bree." He told him.

"Right… Bucklebury Ferry. Follow me." Merry started to lead them away, but they were soon caught by one of the Riders. They all panicked and tried to get around, but it was nearly impossible as the Rider did everything he could to make sure they couldn't get past.

"This way, follow me!" Merry yelled. Three of them were able to get past, but Frodo was still trapped until he maneuvered his way around the Rider. Though when he finally did get around, he saw the others were far ahead of him and at the raft. Sam was getting the rope to the raft when Frodo heard him call his name. Frodo looked behind him for a second and then yelled at the others to go. Frodo knew if he stopped for a second he'd become the Nazgûl's prey. The raft was starting to get away from the dock and everyone starting yelling at him to run.

"Come on, Frodo!" Sam yelled. _Just a little further…_

"Jump!"

And finally Frodo made one giant leap from the dock and Sam caught him, knocking them both down, but they were out of harm's way. The Ringwraith stopped suddenly at the dock, right before he fell into the water, turned around and started to ride away.

"How far to the nearest crossing?" Frodo asked, out of breath.

"The Brandywine Bridge," Merry replied. "Twenty miles."

Sam pulled himself and Frodo up just as they saw three Ringwraiths ride off until they were out of sight. Frodo tried to catch his breath, but as he did he started to get dizzy and began to fall. Luckily, Sam was still slightly holding on to him and was able to catch him just in time and slowly lowered him down so they were sitting on the raft.

"Mr. Frodo, are you alright?" Sam asked. He didn't respond.

"Frodo?" Merry asked.

Frodo took a deep breath and answered. "I'm alright, I just…"

"It's okay, Mr. Frodo. You just try and relax." Sam looked up at Merry and Pippin and through a quick and silent conversation, they agreed to have them do the paddling while Sam helped Frodo to calm down. It made sense to Sam why Frodo would be the most exhausted. Sam looked back at Frodo and saw that he was checking to make sure he still had the Ring in his vest pocket. Once he felt it there, he let his hand drop back down next to him and he scooted next to Sam and Sam used one of his arms to pull him close. Frodo, almost reluctantly, leaned over so his head was resting on Sam's shoulder, still hyperventilating and shaking heavily. Without removing his arm around Frodo's back, Sam decided, although it was a slightly bold move, to use his other arm and wrap it around Frodo on the other side so he was holding him tight. To his surprise, Frodo did not reject this and they stayed like that for a long time. Sam was more than thankful that Merry and Pippin didn't comment on it either.

"Thank you, Sam," Frodo whispered after some time had passed. His voice was still slightly shaky, but he sounded like he had calmed down a little.

Sam held him tighter and whispered, "You're welcome, Mr. Frodo." Their voices were just out of hearing range of the other two Hobbits.

"Bree is just up ahead," Merry announced a few minutes later. Frodo and Sam looked up and confirmed what Merry said through their own sight, then trying to un-awkwardly untangle themselves from each other and stood up.

"I sure hope Gandalf's there," Frodo said as they reached land and tied up their raft.

"So do I," Sam added, as they began walking towards the entrance of Bree.


End file.
